Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kristina L. Schierhorn, Raul Y. Sanchez-David, Pierre Maillard
Summary: Recent work has demonstrated the role of RNA interference (RNAi) in mammalian cell-autonomous antiviral defence. This defence mechanism relies on the accumulation of virus-derived small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs) to degrade viral RNAs. A new study reveals that vsiRNAs can enter the bloodstream via extracellular vesicles (EVs) and confer sequence-specific antiviral activity to recipient cells in infected mice, suggesting the involvement of both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous mechanisms in mammalian antiviral RNAi.
Review
Microbiology
Noah Sciambra, Stanislava Chtarbanova
Summary: This review outlines the known cellular pathways and mechanisms involved in Drosophila age-dependent immunity to pathogenic microorganisms. Factors such as host signaling pathways, sexual dimorphism, environmental stress, and cellular physiology impact age-dependent immunity in Drosophila. Understanding potential tradeoffs between heightened immune function and longevity in the absence of infection is crucial for future studies.
Article
Immunology
Vaibhvi Vaibhvi, Sven Kuenzel, Thomas Roeder
Summary: The immune organs of the fruit fly, Drosophila, namely the fat body and hemocytes, show distinct responses to systemic infection. The fat body exhibits improved peptide synthesis and export, while hemocytes display enhanced phagocytic signatures.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Ghada Tafesh-Edwards, Ioannis Eleftherianos
Summary: The gut epithelia of animals house complex microbial communities that play a crucial role in maintaining immune and cellular homeostasis. These microbial populations have adapted to the gut environment and regulate intestinal stem cells, promoting a healthy gut barrier and epithelial self-renewal. Disruption of these populations is associated with inflammatory disorders and cancerous lesions of the intestine, but the molecular mechanisms controlling gut-microbe interactions are still not fully understood.
News Item
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Laura J. Moore, A. Brad Murray
Summary: Sea level rise leads to the migration of barrier islands towards the land. Coastal evolution modeling reveals a lag in island response time lasting for centuries and predicts a 50% increase in migration rates within the next century, even if sea levels stabilize.
News Item
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Kerstin Goepfrich
Summary: The two-component bacterial MinDE protein system, known as the simplest biological pattern-forming system, has been found to create a mechanochemical feedback loop that drives the continuous movement of liposomes.
Editorial Material
Microbiology
Ioannis Mougiakos, Chase L. Beisel
Summary: CASTs are unique mobile genetic elements that utilize CRISPR-Cas immune systems for RNA-guided DNA transposition, but their CRISPR arrays rarely match their chromosomal location. A recent study in Cell reveals the chromosomal homing mechanisms unique to different types of CAST, independent of the CRISPR arrays, helping to resolve this paradox.
CELL HOST & MICROBE
(2021)
News Item
Microbiology
Catherine N. Wilson, Patrick Musicha, Mathew A. Beale
Summary: This article examines the impact of portable sequencing technology on the field of genomic epidemiology.
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Julien Colombani, Ditte S. Andersen
Summary: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a is a highly conserved proinflammatory cytokine with important functions in immunity, tissue repair, and cellular homeostasis. The simplicity of the Drosophila TNF-TNF receptor (TNFR) system and its genetic toolbox have been crucial in understanding the mechanisms underlying TNF-mediated functions. Recent research has focused on the dual function of TNF in regulating immunity and energy homeostasis, as well as its role in obesity and cancer-associated metabolic diseases.
Review
Biology
Dan Hultmark, Istvan Ando
Summary: Hemocytes, similar to vertebrate blood cells, play important roles in insect development and immunity. New technology, such as single-cell transcriptomic analysis in combination with Drosophila genetics, allows for a better understanding of their functions. This review compares data from different insects and identifies major classes of hemocytes with distinct morphology and functions.
Editorial Material
Hematology
Antonia M. S. Mueller
Summary: The study reveals a new pathophysiologic link between autoimmune diseases and chronic GVHD, showing the clonal relationship and trafficking abilities of peripheral T helper cells and tissue-resident T helper cells between blood and target organs.
Article
Virology
Oumie Kuyateh, Darren J. Obbard
Summary: Drosophila melanogaster has a well-characterized antiviral immune response among invertebrates. This study analyzed seven publicly available transcriptomic sequencing datasets of Drosophila melanogaster and found detectable changes in gene expression induced by natural virus infections, especially in host repair and sex differences.
Article
Fisheries
Wei Zhou, Yadong Xie, Yu Li, Mingxu Xie, Zhen Zhang, Yalin Yang, Zhigang Zhou, Ming Duan, Chao Ran
Summary: miRNAs are a class of highly conserved, small non-coding RNA molecules with a length of 18-25 nucleotides that negatively regulate target genes through complementary pairing with mRNA. Recent research has shown that miRNAs play important roles in regulating fish nutrition and immunity, including influencing fatty acid synthesis and involvement in antibacterial and antiviral immune responses.
FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemical Research Methods
Jerome A. Lecoq, Roman Boehringer, Benjamin F. Grewe
Summary: New three-photon miniature microscopes enable the study of neuronal networks in the deep regions of the brains of behaving animals.
Article
Biology
M. A. Hanson, S. Kondo, B. Lemaitre
Summary: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a crucial role in defending against infection in plants and animals. A study on Drosophila has revealed that the Drosocin gene encodes two prominent host defense peptides with different specificities against distinct pathogens.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
